Look your best online so you can do what you love.

One of my goals, intentions, whatever you want to call them, for 2014 is to take time to celebrate the successes. I’m really great at adding stuff to my to-do list… but not so great at patting myself on the back when I cross things off. I’m usually so focused on figuring out what’s next that it isn’t until someone points how far I’ve come that I acknowledge it. So here’s to the 2013 successes!

Travel

I started and ended the year in travel, and filled it with more travel than ever before. I added 4 new states to my visited list: Utah, New York, Alabama, and Tennessee. In January, I attended my first Alt Summit in Salt Lake City (and am returning in a couple weeks!). Spring had a couple of weekend trips — Dallas and Missouri. In June I visited NYC for the first time. In July, I finally visited New Orleans (despite having lived in Louisiana for 8 years), and I spent a week on the beach in Florida. September was my first visit to Southern California — San Diego and Palm Springs for Designer Vaca. A couple more weekend trips throughout the fall, then I went to Tennessee with my family over Christmas. I think I’ve managed to travel almost every month without realizing it!

Business growth

Y’all. I think I had had at least 5 good crying fits for the year by this time last year (in case you’re wondering, that’s a breakdown every other day). So to be feeling happy and confident in my business for this year is a success in and of itself. But that’s not the only success — this year I surpassed my income from my best paying desk job, not just in gross profit, but in net profit as well. I’m not raking in the big bucks by any means (let’s be honest, I never actually made a lot at my desk job to begin with), but for once in my life I’m happy with the amount of money coming in.

Adopting Dobby

I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted a dog. I grew up with dogs in the house, and I wanted to adopt my own as soon as I graduated from college, but the time just was never right. I’m so happy I’ve been able to adopt this year and couldn’t have asked for a better pup! She has been so much fun and has brought so much needed balance into my life.

Blog growth

Finally, I just want to take a few moments to thank you for reading this blog last year! My lowest traffic month, when I didn’t even post anything new, was higher than my highest traffic month in 2012. Overall traffic more than tripled. But it’s more than just that — I feel like there was a lot more participation in the comments, and a lot more conversations on Twitter. I’ve really enjoyed the conversations that have happened through this blog, and I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made and people I’ve met through blogging. Here are a few fun stats on posts, in case you missed them the first time around!

(In case you’re curious, here’s where I got the information: most viewed posts came from Google Analytics, most commented came from WordPress’s Jetpack annual report, and most tweeted and pinned came from the WP Social Stats plugin.)

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Hello! I’m Lisa, the web designer behind Elembee. I’m on a mission to help you look your best online so you can do what you love.

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Look your best online. Weekly little notes to inspire action, so you can do what you love.